Filius

The Son (or, 'Li Contes dou Mal Genre Musart')

The lord of Antioch, named Belasor, has a son. When the boy is  14 years old, his mother dies. Belsasor is saddened, but eventually he remarries the beautiful and clever ten-year-old daughter of the Babylonian sultan. The son falls in love with her, and propositions her, suggesting that they kill his father. The young wife refuses, and the son pretends that the proposal had been a test of her faith, and asks her to swear never to speak of it. However, wracked by fear and worry, the wife eventually breaks down before her husband, and despite her protests that she will not be believed - or perhaps even doubted herself - she eventually reveals the son's plot. However, Belasor does not believe his son was serious, and takes no action - until, in the midst of an argument, he eventually accuses his son of dishonouring his wife. The son says nothing, but that night, kills Belasor in his sleep, and rules in his stead.

Note:

This narrative offers a direct inversion of the plot of the frame story, recasting the empress as (even younger, cleverer, and) loyal, and the son as conniving. See Runte's introduction for details and analysis (1974).

Critical Literature

Runte (1974)

The inset story appears in the following manuscripts

Manuscript	Language	Siglum (Version)	Language Group within Version
Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 573		M ('Male Marastre')	French

The inset story appears in the following versions and secondary versions

Version	Original Language	Branch of Tradition	Adapted from
M ('Male Marastre')	Old French	West	A (Seven Sages)